May 2019 - Lost In Michigan

The Michigan Grand Canyon

Posted on May 31, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Landscapes .

I was reluctant to post about this place since I was not too fond of the photo I had taken while I visited it. I figured I should share it anyway since I will probably never be able to take a photo that can capture the grand scale of the worlds largest limestone quarry. I probably would have never stopped to look at it if I hadn’t seen the hand-painted sign on Petersville Road south of Rogers City that simply read QUARRY with an arrow pointing to a driveway. At the end of the driveway is a steel platform with some stairs. From the platform, you can see across the massive quarry. You can see what appear to me tiny little trucks making trails of dust but then you realize they are the Tonka looking trucks that are the size of a two-story house. Next time you are in the area be sure to stop and take a look and like the Grand Canyon it is impossible to capture the size of it in a photograph.

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The Lighthouse Water Tower

Posted on May 30, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Water Tower .

I was driving along the St. Clair River near Algonac when I could see what looked like a lighthouse in the distance. I was surprised to see it since I know where all of the lighthouses are located in Michigan in my efforts to visit every one of them. When I got up to the tower I could make out the words “The Colony” on the face of it and I realized it was a water tower. Thankfully a Michigan Historical Marker stands next to it to tell the story, it reads:

Built in 1925 by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Works, this steel-framed water tower was the main water supplier for the “The Colony on the Ste. Claire”; – a secluded residential community established in Clay Township in the early 1920s. The Colony Tower marked the entrance to the Will St. John estate, the home of the real estate developer who founded The Colony subdivision. The 136-foot tower once housed a 60,000-gallon water tank. Constructed with curtain walls and steel plates to resemble a lighthouse, it demonstrates the early twentieth-century penchant for disguising the utilitarian functions of highly visible structures. A light shone from atop the tower, aiding boat and aircraft navigation from 1925 until 1937, when the light was extinguished due to its high operating costs.

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The Lonely Log Cabin

Posted on May 29, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Houses .

I saw this lonely log cabin near Lewiston in the northern Lower Peninsula. I wish I had a story to go along with it but I don’t I thought it looked interesting like it has been standing for a long time. Who knows, maybe Paul Bunyon visited it, I doubt it but unfortunately, walls can’t talk.

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The Redridge Bridge

Posted on May 28, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Bridges, Dam, upper peninsula, Waterfalls .

When I first saw it, I was not sure if it was a bridge, dam or waterfall, or a little bit of all three. On the Salmon Trout River near the town of Redridge is this massive steel structure. It has water flowing underneath and from its rusty girders, it looks as if it has been standing for a long time. It was one of only three steel dams of its type in the United States and it was constructed in 1901. The dam was built to create a reservoir for the Atlantic Stamping Mill in Redridge. The mill is gone but water still flows over the dam.

Redridge is in the Keweenaw and west of Houghton, It’s not far from the ruins in Freda, you can read about them in my post HERE

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A Soldiers Final Resting Place

Posted on May 27, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery, Thumb .

When thinking of Memorial Day many people can recall an image from a national cemetery with row and rows of headstones and American flags placed alongside them. I have visited many old rural cemeteries and see some individual tombstones with the Stars and Stripes proudly waving in the breeze. They may not be laid to rest with their brothers and sisters in a large elaborate cemetery, but that does not mean that the sacrifice they made was insignificant or forgotten. Thank you to the people who honor the veterans by placing flags next to the graves. I notice them and am grateful for their sacrifices.

I saw this headstone and flag on a hill in the Old Bayport Cemetery where many of the residents of the Ora Labora Colony are laid to rest. you can read about that HERE

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The Price of Freedom

Posted on May 26, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery .

It is an awe-inspiring sight to see the row upon row of white headstones of the veterans laid to rest in the National Cemetery in Holly. I highly recommend visiting this beautiful place. It is a good reminder of the price of freedom and the sacrifices made to protect it.

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The White Tombstone

Posted on May 25, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery .

On the outskirts of Saginaw in the back of Oakwood Cemetery is the veteran’s section with a Civil War Monument surrounded by tombstones of the veterans that so proudly served in the military. You will notice one marker is cleaner than the rest of the markers. I don’t know who Ross F. Huffman is other than what is written on his marker and that he served in the infantry during World War II. His marker is in a restored state and cleaned compared to the surrounding headstones. My friend worked at the cemetery, and he told me that one of Mr. Hoffman’s relatives was researching their genealogy and family heritage when they discovered they were related to Mr. Hoffman. While visiting the cemetery, they painstakingly scrubbed and cleaned the tombstone. It stands out among the other markers but they all deserve to be honored and remembered.

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A Woman’s Courage

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Michigan Historical Markers, people .

Next to the Genesee County courthouse in Flint is an ordinary looking Michigan historical marker. It has two names on it. One side with a woman’s name and the other side with a man’s name. It is a reminder of a remarkable person who lived in Flint over a century ago.

Sarah Emma Edmonds was born in Canada in 1841. To escape her abusive father she dressed as a man and immigrated to Flint in 1857. During the Civil War, on May 25, 1861, she enlisted as Franklin Thompson in Company F of the 2nd Michigan Infantry, also known as the Flint Union Greys. Extensive physical examinations were not required for enlistment and her true identity was not discovered. She served as a nurse and messenger and participated in several battles. She also dressed as a woman and became a spy for the Union. In 1893 Emma (or Frank) became ill and she deserted the army before she was found out to be a woman.

In 1864, Sarah wrote a book about her experiences in the Civil War titled The Female Spy of the Union Army. One year later, her story was picked up by a Hartford, CT publisher who issued it with a new title, Nurse and Spy in the Union Army. It was a huge success, selling in excess of 175,000 copies. Edmonds donated the profits from her memoir to various soldiers aid organizations. She continued to travel the country lecturing and sharing her remarkable story.

In 1867, she married Linus. H. Seelye, a mechanic and a childhood friend with whom she had three children. All three of their children died in their youth, leading the couple to adopt two sons. She petitioned the government to change her desertion charge and on July 3, 1886, Congress granted Sarah Emma Edmonds Seelye an honorable discharge from combat duty and a pension of $12 a month. She is the only female to be admitted into the veteran’s organization the Grand Army of the Republic and is laid to rest in a G.A.R. section of Washington Cemetery in Houston after she died in 1897

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The Old G.A.R. Hall

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Michigan Historical Markers .

This old G.A.R. hall stands in the small town of Sunfield west of Lansing. The historical marker in front of it reads:

The Samuel W. Grinnell Post No. 283 was granted its charter by the Grand Army of the Republic (G. A. R.) on October 6, 1884. The post operated until 1934, at which time it was disbanded. Members built this hall in 1898-99. Dedicated in October 1899, it contains flags, medals, photographs and other mementos of the Civil War and of the Sunfield veterans of that war. Furniture, ritual equipment and records of this G. A. R. post are also kept here. In 1899 members planted and dedicated three maple trees at the front of the property, dedicating them to the memory of Generals Grant, Sheridan and Sherman. The two cannon on either side of the hall were brought to Sunfield by the G. A. R. in 1900.

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Lost In Michigan Book Giveaway

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Giveaways .

Here is your chance to win a Lost In Michigan Volume 2 paperback book. To enter the giveaway you have to be a subscriber to Lost In Michigan. If you have not subscribed to Lost In Michigan you can do it HERE . After you subscribed, or if you are already a subscriber, then comment on this post down below. (Note that I use Facebook for comments, If you are not able to comment be sure you have a facebook account and are logged in on the device you are using to post comments. )

Books are available on my website HERE or at Amazon HERE

I will choose a winner from the comments at random and they will be announced in my post on Jue 3rd

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